Ex-head of Renault and Nissan insists colleague held in Japan is innocent as he works to refute his own charges

Carlos Ghosn knows how compelling his story is. Born in Brazil to Lebanese parents, he scaled the corporate ladder to the very top of global industry to be crowned head of Renault and Nissan, before suffering a spectacular downfall: arrested in Japan and, in a dramatic finale, escaping in a box to freedom in Beirut.

“There are going to be a lot of movies,” he said via video interview just before the third anniversary of his arrest. “This story is very rich. There are so many facets.”